Competitive Sporting Pistol or CSP is an action shooting sport that challenges the athlete’s mastery of the handgun under 2 diametrically opposite attributes in the art of shooting – accuracy and speed under stress. CSP is a practical shooting sport that challenges the athlete’s mastery of the handgun under 2 diametrically opposite attributes in the art of shooting – accuracy and speed under stres
s. In CSP, the athlete must attain the correct blend of accuracy and speed in order to achieve the maximum score. While CSP appears very similar to CQB (Close Quarter Battle) where the action is very intense and quick and where the presence of mind determines the winner, CSP is more of a mental sport and is not a combat sport. Unlike Precision shooting disciplines which focus on perfect precision, CSP is multi-dimensional and demands acceptable precision under extreme physical, physiological and psychological stresses. Therein lies the distinction between static marksmanship and dynamic marksmanship. Unlike Precision shooting disciplines, there are no standard COFs in this sport so you cannot rote-learn a stage until you can shoot it to perfection. Athletes are allowed 3 minutes to devise an ex*****on plan for each COF. CSP challenges the on-the-spot adaptive skills of the athlete and his ability to perform on demand under different scenarios. The ability to deliver peak performance lies in the athlete’s mental skills: the ability isolates the perturbations from the task at hand and the ability manipulates his attention and focus. With COFs won or lost by mere fractions of a second, and with a complex array of tasks to be executed within this time, top level CSP athletes have to rely on their “sub-conscious” mind to deliver a flawless ex*****on. A task so complex cannot be executed smoothly with deliberate conscious effort. A Precision shooter may take 5 seconds to fire off 1 aimed shot, but one of our local CSP shooter has the ability to draw from holster and fire 9 aimed and called shots at multiple 15M targets within 3.35 seconds. Such a task cannot be directed by the conscious mind, such a feat enters the realm where higher mental ability must be employed. Sports psychologists believe that human perception and motor reflexes are far superior when they are directed by the unadulterated will of the subconscious mind. Top level CSP athletes routinely train to be in control of their subconscious abilities as well as a positive self-image to produce superior performance. When all these attention-manipulation skills are put together, the entire ex*****on happens so fast although every shot is aimed, controlled and the athlete is able to tell where each shot landed without looking at the target. At SGC, some of our CSP athletes spend countless hours at the range pushing the limit of their mental ability in high speed marksmanship. A few of them are able to attain a phenomenon called "time dilation" , and with their mental skills, they can perform to a level that is just awesome to watch. How is CSP Different from IDPA? In CSP, the operative word is competitive and we lack the tactical and defensive elements found in IDPA. We are a sport oriented towards mastery of our equipment under extreme stress. Our rules and etiquettes are largely oriented towards safety. Although CSP is a form of practical shooting with roots in CQB, we have dropped tactical consideration in the pure pursuit of the highest level of skills. We encourage our members to view the handgun merely as equipment in a sport that challenges their mental skills, and not as a weapon of combat. We believe such a clinical perspective to CSP will be helpful in our long term ambition for CSP to be recognised as a Sport. While CSP is a very new arrival in the Singapore shooting scene, we have a deep pool of talent in this sport. Internationally, CSP athletes compete in IPSC matches and our local athletes are well regarded by their IPSC peers. Until the adoption of CSP by SGC in 2015, our local CSP talent pool has been self-funded and self-supported facing numerous odds and challenges domestically. Despite such odds, our local athletes have won honours in regional competitions. Now with the supportive environment provided by SGC, the CSP group is better positioned to unlock it sports excellence to win even more IPSC medals in Asia and bring more international glory for Singapore in this sport.
